We all had a ton to share with you in The Marketing Optimist newsletter this month. So much so that the stories were a little overwhelming when published within the email itself.

We cover a major marketing scandal in a new blog linked in the email we sent you, and on this page, Hristina, Chris and Ligita cover the tumultuous state of social, increasing sales with affiliate marketing, and campaigns that amaze. There’s lots to explore.

The Fragility of Social Media

By Hristina – Social Media Manager

In January of 2025, asking a social media manager “Hey, how’s work”, has become a taboo subject. Why? Because the social media landscape has become more unpredictable than ever.

There has been a lot going on this month, from Meta updating its moderation policies, to Instagram changing the profile grid from square to 4:5, and the TikTok ban that never was.

Each one of these has sparked its own discourse about the integrity of platforms, free speech, misinformation and how we as marketers tackle the ever-changing realm that is social.

In terms of the Instagram update, what it will mean for the end user and social media managers is that a curated grid is a thing of the past. Using multiple, interconnected images to create a certain aesthetic was exceedingly popular from 2016 for a good few years but the platform’s now put an end to this. It will also mean redesigning any existing square templates to fit the new format.

As for the TikTok ban, the lesson is simple – to not rely on a single platform for your marketing strategy. Many creators and brands were facing the possibility of a future where they were completely deprived of an audience, frantically trying to get their audience to follow them elsewhere. While the TikTok ban turned out to be a red herring, the point still stands and no platform is ever safe.

Meta’s choice to go down Elon Musk’s route of deprioritising the fight with misinformation has turned a lot of users against CEO Mark Zuckerberg and with good reason. In an era of AI-generated content and fake news, fact checking is as important as ever. Users and social media managers alike need to be mindful of what goes on in the platform and monitor this development closely.

Increase Sales With Affiliate Marketing (Sans Influencers)

By Chris – Copywriter and Content Strategist

Recently, Honey, a browser extension from PayPal that finds discount codes for users shopping online, found themselves in hot water by hijacking the affiliate links of the influencers and YouTube creators they sponsored, throwing affiliate marketing into the spotlight. – We cover this story in full in a blog linked in the email we sent you.

Don’t scroll away if influencer marketing is not appropriate to you, because affiliate marketing via other means, just might be, and could be super effective.

We’ve had some good traction using an affiliate system called AWin for a client. Originally set up to generate sales of products featured in digital publications, while enabling publishers to make a commission, it’s also used for discount sites and referral schemes.

This latter application is where we have seen results – connecting with publishers and discount sites – who promote our client’s brand and products on their websites and offer a discount code, or an affiliate link to the client’s site which carries a discount. When a user makes a purchase on our client’s website having used an affiliate partner’s discount code, or affiliate link, the partner earns a commission.

Since we began these activities, the client has seen a significant increase in sales worth on average £10K a month. However, reporting on sales and traffic isn’t straightforward, as it’s hard to know if the sales are from organic users who venture off site for a discount code before converting on site, or whether the sale wouldn’t have happened without the affiliate partner.

Still, at this point, our client is keen to continue, despite the slightly murky user journey, and is delighted by the increase in sales. Could affiliate marketing work for your business? Let’s have a chat.

The Spectacular Marketing of Squid Games

By Ligita – Social Media Account Manager

From immersive experiences to brand collaborations, the Squid Game Season 2 campaigns transformed the series into more than just a show – it became a global event. They have hosted fan activations in over 25 countries across 6 continents.

Examples of marketing promotions/campaigns that they have done:

• Real-life interactive experiences: Fans participated in thrilling games and challenges inspired by the series, drawing 6 million online and 52,000 in-person participants across 10 countries. From Squid Game rave in London, providing an immersive environment that mirrored the show’s themes to Red Light, Green Light game at the Bondi Icebergs pool in Australia. There was also a 6K race in São Paulo, Squid Game Maze in the Netherlands…the list can go on…
• WhatsApp integration: The partnership allowed fans to connect with each other and discuss the show in group chats.
• Out-of-home (OOH) marketing: Eye-catching ads in prominent locations around the world captured the attention of passers by.
• Collaborations with influencers and creators: This extended the campaign’s reach to even more audiences.
• Brand partnerships: Netflix teamed up with iconic brands, including Squid Game PUMA Collaboration, Duolingo’s (my favourite) “Learn Korean or Else”.

The results? Spectacular, in my opinion. The campaigns ensured that Squid Game Season 2 wasn’t just watched – it was experienced. By leveraging diverse marketing strategies and embedding the show into both global and local contexts, they made fans active participants in the journey.

The numbers speak for themselves:

⏺ 68 million views
🔼 The most views ever for a show in its first week
⏹ Already Netflix’s seventh most popular non-English TV show

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